How Corporate-Controlled Museums in China Have Become Strategic Urban Development Tools

During Shanghai Art Week, Observer took a day trip to the newly inaugurated UCCA Clay, a museum that opened its doors this October in Yixing, Jiangsu province—fondly known as the “City of Ceramics.” Situated about two hours and two train rides from Shanghai, this ambitious new cultural destination seeks to bridge Yixing’s storied clay-making heritage with the innovative practices of contemporary artists working with the medium. While the city has long been synonymous with its artisanal workshops and pottery shops, it lacked a true cultural anchor, and UCCA Clay aims to fill that void by not only preserving the remnants of Yixing’s once-thriving pottery factories but also positioning itself as a standalone tourist draw to put the city on the cultural map.

At the heart of UCCA Clay’s aspirations is its breathtaking architecture, designed by the celebrated Kengo Kuma & Associates. The museum’s façade is a showstopper, clad in hand-fired terracotta tiles crafted by local artisans using Yixing’s famous purple clay. This 2,400-square-meter masterpiece takes its cues from the surrounding landscape, with a fluid, undulating form mirroring the nearby Shushan mountain. The building’s design goes beyond aesthetics, however, creating a sensory interplay between the curved pools in the plaza and the textured ceramic skin. The result? A dazzling display of light effects that ripple across the space, casting flickering reflections onto the vaulted shell ceilings and wavy interior walls. It’s a dynamic environment that feels as alive and tactile as the clay it celebrates.

Unfortunately, the architecture of UCCA Clay steals the spotlight, leaving the inaugural exhibition struggling to match the exterior’s grandeur and ultimately paling in comparison. “The Ways of Clay: Select Award-Winning Works from the International Ceramics Festival Mino of the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan,” which features sixty-nine award-winning ceramic works from the International Ceramics Festival Mino at the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art in Gifu, Japan, lacks cohesion even as it attempts to find significance and coherance in three loosely connected themes. The first chapter, “Seeds of Nature,” explores the organic shaping of natural forms, aiming to establish a dialogue between art and nature. The second, “Geometric Structure,” shifts focus to the interplay of space and surface in contemporary ceramic aesthetics. And finally, “Garden of Meditation” ventures into the spiritual and historical, presenting ceramics as vessels of reflection and iconography.

While the exhibition design, conceived by UCCA’s Anna Xiaoran Yan, is undeniably impressive—presenting the traditional medium with contemporary fluidity—it’s hard to escape the sense that the show falls short of the space’s potential. The museum has actually laid out promising plans to address this very critique: contemporary artists will be invited to interact with the space and local ceramic traditions through ambitious installations and artist residencies.

UCCA Clay represents the latest expansion of the ambitious UCCA Group, which transitioned in 2017 from a privately owned museum into a leading corporate entity managing multiple venues across China. Originally established in 2007 by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens as the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, UCCA initially focused on showcasing and preserving the founders’ private collection—much of which was later sold as part of a succession strategy. In 2018, UCCA was formally accredited as a museum by the Beijing Cultural Bureau and now operates with non-profit foundations licensed by both the Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs and the Hong Kong government. Beyond its growing network of museums—including UCCA Dune, UCCA Edge, UCCA Clay and UCCA Offsite—it also oversees several initiatives under its wide umbrella: UCCA Kids (a children’s education program), UCCA Store (a retail platform) and UCCA Lab (a space for collaborations and experimental projects). Many of the new museums were born out of strategic partnerships with local real estate developers or municipal governments.

This approach reflects a significant evolution in museum management—and the museum “business”—in China. In the 2000s, the country gained attention for the staggering number of private museums popping up each year, fueled largely by the tax benefits available to their founders. By 2022, China boasted 6,565 museums, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, with about a third—2,175—being privately owned. Just a few years later, the private museum landscape has shifted considerably.

While the Chinese economy’s slowdown, the COVID-19 pandemic and a faltering property market have all contributed to reduced funding for private museums, there are deeper structural challenges at play. Our conversations with local collectors and patrons during Shanghai Art Week revealed that donating to the arts in China has become increasingly arduous. Lengthy bureaucratic procedures and stringent financial audits often discourage even the most dedicated benefactors. These obstacles are part of the government’s broader effort to tighten control over wealth, a strategy that gained momentum with the implementation of the Charity Law in 2016 and the Foreign NGO Management Law in 2017. Both laws aim to regulate philanthropy and civic engagement, two areas that have struggled to gain footing in China despite decades of explosive economic growth.

Charitable giving in China remains starkly limited compared to countries like the U.S. According to the 2019 Charity Aid Foundation World Giving Index, China has ranked in the bottom ten globally over the past decade, while the U.S. consistently claims the top position. As Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, remarked during a 2015 opening ceremony: “Giving donations to charities is much harder than earning money.” For UCCA and other institutions navigating this fraught philanthropic landscape, the challenge lies not just in securing funding but also in sustaining meaningful engagement with the arts under increasingly complex conditions.

In this tough-to-navigate cultural landscape, a new corporate model has emerged to reshape museum management and business in China, stepping in where private liberal initiatives and donations have slowed. This model integrates museums into larger strategies of destination-making and urban development, benefiting real estate developers and the hospitality industry while also nurturing more diversified local economies. Such an approach is particularly timely for Chinese cities transitioning from a manufacturing-based economy to one rooted in services—a shift already experienced in parts of Europe—as Chinese manufacturing increasingly relocates to countries in South Asia, Africa and South America.

SEE ALSO: Five Must-Visit Contemporary Art Museums in Shanghai

Art museums, in particular, have become integral to the hyperactive urban planning programs proliferating across China, often involving state authorities as well as corporations and investment companies targeting specific areas for development. This phenomenon persists despite concerns surrounding the ongoing property crisis. A prime example of this dynamic is Zendai Himalaya in Shanghai, founded by the Shanghai Zendai Group. This sprawling complex in Pudong includes a five-star hotel, a “creative industry” zone and a 60,000-square-foot museum—although the latter suffers from a lack of programming and clear structure. Similarly, the Today Art Museum in Beijing was developed as part of a larger luxury complex, while in Shenzhen, the state-controlled Konka Group—whose holdings include the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) real estate corporation—has created cultural-themed attractions like Splendid China, Window of the World and Happy Valley. While these spaces feature grand architectural gestures, they are often criticized for prioritizing commercial interests over cultural substance, functioning more as entertainment venues than true museums.

Public investment in contemporary art remains sparse in China, with the majority of funding reserved for traditional art, which aligns more readily with nationalistic narratives. State-run museums, long reliant on partial government funding, have struggled to keep pace. However, there are glimmers of progress. Some forward-thinking local governments are beginning to invest in significant public initiatives, coupling these investments with strong contemporary curatorial leadership.

A standout example of art seamlessly integrated into urban life is the Jing’an International Sculpture Project (JISP) in Shanghai’s historic Jing’an District, often regarded as the city’s cultural and historical heart. Open twenty-four hours a day, year-round, with free access, this thoughtfully designed art park lets visitors take in a remarkable collection of modern and contemporary outdoor sculptures that are perfectly integrated into the park’s lush, natural surroundings, creating a space where art and nature harmoniously coexist. Some sculptures are permanent fixtures, while others are displayed for three months every two years as part of an outdoor biennial featuring a mix of existing works and unique commissions.

For the first time, the 2024 iteration of this bi-annual event, titled “Echoes Among Us,” has been curated by UCCA Lab. The exhibition seeks to explore the symbiotic relationship between art, the city and its people and boasts an impressive lineup of work by international artists, including three commissioned marble sculptures and two vividly painted weaves by Claudia Comte, a large bronze by Camille Henrot and a new work by French artist Martial Raysse. Off-site, visitors can find colorful structures by Daniel Buren, while the park itself houses three mesmerizing kinetic sculptures by George Ricky, presented in collaboration with his estate.

The Biennial also highlights fresh commissions from a new wave of young Chinese artists, many of whom represent an international generation studying and living abroad. Among these standout works are the whimsical Giant Ducks by Brooklyn-based Huidi Xiang; Metallic Roots, an organic sculptural tangle emerging from a pond, conceived by New York-based Cao Shuyi; Solar-Powered Fossils, a series of fossil- and shell-inspired sculptures with integrated solar panels by Joey Xia, who studied in Chicago; and Feng Zhixuan’s Dinosaur Spine, an articulated sculpture inspired by dinosaur skeletons, thoughtfully positioned in dialogue with the Museum of Natural History it faces. Taking an intergenerational approach, the exhibition also includes contributions from several established contemporary Chinese artists. Shi Hui, who represented China at the 2024 Venice Biennale, showcases her work alongside key figures from the 1980s and 1990s, including Nabuqi, Wang Lijun, Yang Mushi and Zhang Yibei.

Yet as idyllic as it is, the Jing’an International Sculpture Project is not entirely removed from the web of corporate-driven cultural development strategies. It is, in fact, a key component of Shanghai’s ambitious “One River, One Creek” initiative, part of the city’s fourteenth five-year plan to create a world-class waterfront along the Suzhou River. Than plan complements the Nanjing West Road “Hundred Billion Business District” initiative, which aims to establish new commercial and consumer landmarks. The broader strategy incorporates six public art landmarks, including Jing’an Kerry Centre (JAKC), HKRI Taikoo Hui, Jing’an Tongfu Garden, SHANGHAI Suhewan MIXC WORLD, Skyline in HAUS and Jing’an Shuangyong Park. While public funding and local government support have played a role in these projects, major corporations like China Jinmao Holdings Group Limited and Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co. are also key players.

While the growing influence of corporations in the museum and public art sectors raises concerns about cultural quality being sacrificed in service of commercial objectives, it’s worth noting the strides Chinese art institutions have made in a remarkably short time. Both curatorial and management standards have significantly improved, thanks to the emergence of a new generation of skilled professionals who are redefining what it means to run cultural institutions properly. Only a few years ago, the term “curator” was almost unheard of in the Chinese art scene; today, it’s a respected and vital role.

If this persistent corporate interest is increasingly balanced by strong local government initiatives and continues to be paired with professional curatorial and managerial expertise, China’s burgeoning art scene could have a brighter and more sustainable future—perhaps even outpacing developments in other parts of the world.